The Unlikely Allies
by Fawkes393
Summary: Harry is in danger. There are only two people who can save him. Two people who hate each other, Sirius and Snape. Can they put their differences aside and save Harry? Set in 5th year so discounts OoTP, HBP and DH
1. Chapter 1: The Worst Hogsmeade Weekend

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot

Summary: Harry is in danger. There are only two people who can save him. Two people who hate each other, Sirius and Snape. Can they put their differences aside and save Harry?

A/N

This is just a re-post after being beta-ed by my excellant beta, Ginni. Not really much different just much better grammar.

Chapter 1: The Worst Hogsmeade Weekend.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been looking forward to this Hogsmeade weekend for ages. It was their first one in their fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and they felt they really deserved the break; their fifth year was their O.W.L. year and they were working flat out to try and complete all their homework. Well, Harry and Ron were; Hermione was doing her homework easily and she still had time to make house-elf clothes. Harry and Ron still didn't think they looked like clothes, but they never told Hermione this. She was very proud and she thought her knitting was very good.

Harry and Ron were just finishing their breakfast that morning when Hermione entered the Great Hall.

'Oh, for heavens sake,' she said by way of a greeting.

'What happened?' Harry asked dreading the answer.

'Peeves just stole all of my History of Magic notes and has put them on top of the chandelier on the third floor,' Hermione said exasperatedly. 'I need those notes!'

'We need those notes too. Harry and I haven't taken any notes all year!' Ron exclaimed.

'Well whose fault is that?' Hermione screamed. 'Anyway, I've told McGonagall and she said Filch will get them down. I was going to but we're not allowed to do magic in the corridors and Mrs Norris was around.'

'So why are you so mad if you're going to get them back?' Ron asked perplexed.

'It's the principal of it. Peeves knew I couldn't use magic and he was purposely trying to make me do it to get me in trouble.'

'You didn't though. So you won, didn't you,' Harry told her reassuringly.

'Yeah you're right. Thanks, Harry,' Hermione said with a smile, sat down, and promptly began eating. Harry was thankful that he managed to defuse the situation so quickly.

'So where do you want to go today?' Harry asked.

'Zonko's,' Ron replied without any hesitation.

'We always go there and you're always in there for ages,' Hermione exclaimed.

'So? It's a really good shop. If you have a problem…' Ron began angrily.

'We promise we'll be quick and we'll go where ever you want to go as well,' Harry stepped in not wanting another row to start.

'Okay. Can we go to the Shrieking Shack? We haven't been there for ages,' Hermione suggested.

'Yeah, good idea. Hardly anyone goes up there any more so we won't have to put up with the looks and snide comments of all the people who think I'm a nut case!' Harry replied happily.

'Not many people think you're a nut case. Just a few,' Hermione replied hiding a smile.

'Just a few! Most the school does,' Harry said miserably.

'That's their loss, mate. They'll find out soon enough you're telling the truth about You-Know-Who and then they'll be begging for you're forgiveness,' Ron told Harry reassuringly.

'Thanks, Ron. But I won't hold my breath,' Harry said with a forced smile. 'Anyway, ready to go?' Hermione and Ron both nodded. They had all got up to leave the Great Hall when McGonagall called to Harry.

'Potter! Here, please.' Wondering what he had done now, Harry walked slowly back to McGonagall, while Hermione and Ron sat back down waiting for him.

'Yes Professor?'

'Potter, I don't want you to be alone at any point while you're in Hogsmeade. Do you understand?' McGonagall said sternly.

'Yes. Why?' Harry asked confounded.

'Because it is exposed and there is nothing to stop someone from attacking you. Just better safe then sorry Potter.'

'Yeah. Okay, Professor. I won't go anywhere by myself. But I can take care of myself you know,' He began to contradict her.

'I know you can Potter, but the headmaster doesn't want you to take any unnecessary risks. Now off you go.' Completely confused, Harry went to get Hermione and Ron so they could leave for Hogsmeade. If Harry had turned around he would have seen McGonagall exchange very concerned looks with Snape and Hagrid.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione left the Great Hall talking about McGonagall's request.

'They're obviously worried or she wouldn't have warned you,' Hermione said, the fear showing in her voice.

'I don't see why. It's not like Hogsmeade is a deserted place. It's full of most of the students of Hogwarts, not to mention a lot of the teachers,' Ron stated.

'Let's just stick together. It doesn't matter why we have to. We just have to,' Hermione told them to put an end to the conversation as they joined the queue of students waiting to be signed out by a extremely suspicious Filch, who had taken to checking everyone's pockets on the way out and back in.

'Hermione!' Ron replied in mock outrage. 'How can you possibly not be curious about this?'

'I am. But what's the point of speculating? It's probably just because,' she lowered her voice so Harry and Ron had to lean in closer to hear her. 'Voldemort's back.'

'Yeah, you're right. Where shall we go first?' Harry asked keen to put an end to the conversation though he couldn't tell them why if they had asked. Harry, Ron and Hermione stepped out after being strictly inspected by Filch, who was trying to confiscate Harry's money until Harry pointed out that he would need it for a day out, and if he didn't let him have it he would make sure Dumbledore found out. While Filch was with Dumbledore, students could be sneaking Dungbombs and Fanged Frisbees into Hogwarts. So Filch reluctantly let them leave while making a note next to Harry's name. Harry guessed it would be something like, 'Inspect for Dungbombs, etc. Troublemaker.' Filch had written that next to Harry's name so many time he had lost count.

They made their way to Zonko's where Ron bought various things that Harry knew they would have to put a spell onto make them look like something else to get them back in past Filch. After Zonko's they went to the Three Broomsticks for Butterbeers.

'Hermione, you can't do that!' Ron exclaimed infuriated.

'Yes I can!' Hermione replied equally annoyed. Hermione had just told Ron and Harry that she was going to make S.P.E.W. into a club and that Harry and Ron had to be members.

'I refuse to play any part in it,' Ron spat.

'If you were any kind of a friend you would do it even if you didn't want to,' Hermione whispered dangerously.

'I don't want to do it!' Ron yelled, attracting more than a few startled looks from other curious students.

'Harry will do it. Won't you, Harry?' Hermione pleaded. Harry looked at her pityingly. He really didn't want to do it, but he knew if he didn't he would never hear the end of it.

'Err…' Harry replied hesitantly. Hermione looked at him expectantly. 'Okay, but nothing with a big responsibility and no going up to people and begging them to join.'

'Oh, thank you, Harry,' Hermione gushed as she hugged him. She turned and gave Ron a smug look.

'Fine! I give up! I'll do it,' Ron said defeated. This lead Hermione to go into a long-winded explanation of her plan and how she proposed getting more people involved. Harry stopped listening quite early on. After what felt like an hour of Hermione telling them her action plan they left the Three Broomsticks.

'Where to now?' Ron asked.

'The Shrieking Shack?' Hermione suggested hopefully.

'Yeah. But let's go quickly,' Harry said after a group of Ravenclaws all stopped talking to stare at him. Harry, Ron and Hermione started to make their slow way up to the Shrieking Shack as the Ravenclaws started talking about Harry again. 'Still thinks You-Know-Who is back…' 'Wants the attention…' 'Won't except that everyone knows he's lying…' As Harry heard all this he gave a great sigh. People still thought he was lying. _If the Daily Prophet wasn't in the Ministry's pocket then maybe a few more people would believe him_, he thought desperately.

After a long, steady climb to the top of the hill where the Shrieking Shack was situated, they were all more than a little bit out of breath. Harry leant against the fence that surrounded the Shrieking Shack to get his breath back. It was a bright hot day and the sun was shining in Harry's face.

'Blimey,' Ron gasped. 'I don't remember the climb being that tough the last time.'

'It wasn't such a hot day then,' Hermione panted. Harry was just contemplating doing a spell to cool him down when he heard a noise. He held up a hand to silence Ron and Hermione. He started listening intently, McGonagall's warning echoing in his ears.

'What is it?' Ron asked, who clearly hadn't noticed anything. But judging from the expression on Hermione's face she had heard it as well. Harry exchanged a frightened look with Hermione while still trying to hear the noise again. There it was. Someone was trying to sneak up on them. Harry made a motion with his hand to signal to Ron and Hermione to follow him. Harry pulled his wand out of his robes and slowly made his way around to the other side of the Shrieking Shack. Harry's heart was pounding in his ears; his breathing was getting heavier. They reached the other side of the Shrieking Shack. There was no one there. He couldn't see anyone. In fact he couldn't even see Hogsmeade anymore. Oh no! If he couldn't see Hogsmeade then the people in Hogsmeade couldn't see them. He turned back around to Ron and Hermione. Just as he was about to tell them to run he heard the spell.

'_Stupefy_!' roared the voice.

'No,' Harry screamed as the spell hit Ron directly between the eyes. Ron looked slightly shocked then he fell to the ground in a heap. Hermione fell to his side. Ron was unconscious after being hit with such a strong Stunning Spell.

'Ron,' she gasped. Harry wheeled about trying to see who had cast the spell.

'_Stupefy_,' roared the voice again. This time Harry was ready.

'_Protego_,' Harry thundered, shouting the first defensive spell that came into his head. The Shielding Spell caused the Stunning Spell to be rebounded onto the person who had cast it but their attacker was quick on his toes and dived to the side, narrowly missing being hit.

'_You_!' Harry bellowed. Lucius Malfoy stood up facing Harry. Hermione was whimpering by Ron. But out of the corner of Harry's eye, he saw her get ready to withdraw her wand as she slowly began to stand up.

'_Petrificus Totalus_,' Malfoy yelled pointing his wand at Hermione. Harry raised his wand to perform a defensive spell but it had already hit Hermione. Hermione had not been ready for this attack and she let out a little 'Oh' of surprise before she fell to the ground. She lay rigid on the ground next to Ron's unconscious body. 'Now, Potter!' Malfoy spat. 'You're coming with me.'

'_Expelliarmus_,' Harry shouted hoping to catch Malfoy unawares, but Malfoy simply waved his wand as though to brush away the spell. Malfoy started advancing on Harry. Harry was getting desperate. Malfoy was a fully grown Death Eater and was probably one of the best at magic out of all the Death Eaters and extremely clever. He couldn't see a way out of this one.

'_Impedimenta_,' Harry yelled desperately. Harry's spell hit Malfoy squarely in the chest and he stopped in his tracks, completely immobilised. Harry let out a sigh of relief. He couldn't believe he had managed to get out of that one. He turned around to take the spells off Hermione and Ron. '_Finite Incan_…' he began.

'_Stupefy_,' yelled a second voice. Harry fell to the floor. Bellatrix Lestrange had hit Harry with a Stunner directly between his shoulder blades. Harry had been knocked out cold.

A/N

I know everyone says this but PLEASE review

Until next time

Jen


	2. Chapter 2: The Kidnapping

A/N

I thought I would post this as I got close to 150 hits on the first chapter although I only got two reviews sob

Anyway here is the second chapter

Chapter 2: Harry's gone

Hermione POV

Hermione was hit before she could react. A full body bind much like the one she had used on Neville in her first year. She was still aware of the fight continuing around her but she could only hear what was happening now she could not move her head for a view of anything other than the sky. She heard Malfoy speak, 'Now Potter! You're coming with me!'

'_Expelliarmus_,' she heard Harry shout but a low chuckle from Malfoy let her know he had been unsuccessful. Come on Harry you can do it, she thought desperately.

'_Impedimenta_,' she heard Harry yell. The desperation evident in his voice. She braced herself for the counter attack but nothing came. Harry had done it! She heard him give a sigh of relief. For her part she could of jumped for joy but her current predicament stopped that. She heard Harry start to speak again, '_Finite Incan…_' but he was cut off by a shrill cry of, '_Stupefy!_' Hermione heard Harry fall to the ground with a thump. No! Harry was down. There was no one else there to help them. The voice who had stunned Harry starting speaking.

'Oh dear, Lucius. Beaten by a child. Aren't we pathetic.' Hermione wanted to laugh, Harry was hardly an ordinary child. This woman obviously had no idea how resourceful Harry was.

'I supposed I better free you._ Finite Incantatem!_' The woman said almost lazily.

'I suppose I should thank you, Bellatrix. But you can hardly call Harry Potter a child. He has bested the Dark Lord before,' came Lucius Malfoy's drawl.

'Whatever your excuse, you were lucky I was here. Now pick him up and take him to the portkey and wait for me there.' Bellatrix ordered. Lucius heaved a sigh before picking up Harry and heading for the woods. Hermione wondered what Bellatrix would do to her and Ron now. She knew it could only be bad. Bellatrix's loomed into Hermione's line of vision.

'Well, well, well. I suppose Lucius did get two of you. So he does have his uses. Listen here girl. I want you to tell Dumbledore that we have his precious Golden Boy and if he doesn't follow the instructions, we will give at a later date, we will kill him. Understand? Good. Bye bye.' She gave a sarcastic wave and left in the direction that Lucius left. Hermione was terrified. What was she going to do? She couldn't move. Ron could be dead. And Harry had been kidnapped. Luckily for her, Snape had been sent to find them. And turned up a short while later.

'Oh god!' Hermione heard him exclaim. '_Finite Incantatem._' Hermione could move. Gingerly she sat up and looked over at Ron. Snape however was looking at Hermione. 'What happened?'

'We need to help Ron!' She grabbed her wand and hurried over to Ron and whispered '_Enervate._' Nothing happened. Hermione couldn't believe it, she had never failed with a spell before. 'Professor,' she begged. Snape bent down over him and muttered a few well chosen words before telling Hermione, 'It's no good we have to get him to Madam Pomfrey.' Hermione could have broken down in tears then, but instead she nodded as bravely as she could and helped Snape lift Ron into his arms. 

Hermione was sitting in Dumbledore's office, waiting for Dumbledore and Snape to come back. Ron had been taken to the hospital wing where Madam Pomfrey had told them that Ron would be alright in a few days but was lucky not to have lost his eyesight. Hermione was so relieved when she heard that but also so scared. As now she knew Ron was going to be alright her entire being was focusing on Harry and what he must be going through now.

Snape had taken her to Dumbledore's office and ordered her to stay there until he came back with the Headmaster and when he did they wanted to hear everything that had happened. So Hermione sat there desperately trying to remember every single detail of their day. She found it hard to believe that earlier she had been worrying about something as trivial as History of Magic notes.

She sat there for what seemed like hours when in fact it was probably only a few minutes. She heard the door open and people enter the room but she didn't have the courage to face them as now she was sure they were going to blame her after all she had suggested going up to the Shrieking Shack where they were attacked. She saw Dumbledore walk round the desk and sat down in front of her that was when she noticed that Snape had brought Sirius back with him as well. That makes sense, she thought, after all Harry is Sirius' godson.

'Now, Miss Granger,' Dumbledore began gently, 'tell us exactly what happened and where Harry is.' Hermione looked over at Sirius and saw the anguish in his face, she quickly turned away she could not bare to see his pain.

'We went….we went up to…to the Shrieking Shack,' Hermione stuttered. Hermione then proceeded to tell them the entire story and as she was speaking Sirius was getting paler and paler but none of them interrupted her. She was thankful for this as she was sure if they stopped her she wouldn't be able to start again. When she finished telling her tale, all three of them looked angrier than she had ever seen them. Snape's reaction surprised her a great deal as she had never seen much emotion from him in the whole five years she had known him.

'We need to find him.' Sirius snarled.

'Why have they taken him, especially without letting Severus into their plan?' Dumbledore inquired. That was when Hermione remembered. She hadn't told them about the message!

'Bellatrix Lestrange,' she began timidly. They all turned to look at her. 'She told me to give you a message, sir,' she told Dumbledore.

'Oh yes? What message?'

'She said that if you didn't do exactly as they ask they will kill Harry.'

'What do they want us to do?' Sirius asked desperately.

'She didn't say. She said the instructions would follow,' Hermione told them.

'Okay. Okay. Okay. What do we do Albus? We need to get Harry back!' Sirius shouted. Sirius looked close to tears. The sight really unsettled Hermione because Sirius always seemed so calm and collected to her. She never expected him to get so emotional.

'Yes, indeed we do. The only way we can do this is quietly. Make a big fuss and Voldemort will know he has won.' Dumbledore stated. Everyone nodded, knowing what he said made sense. 'Sirius, Severus, you need to go find Harry and bring him back.'

'What? We can't do that. It'll blow my cover!' Snape exclaimed.

'I know. But you can disguise yourself,' Dumbledore replied simply.

'Why us? We don't exactly work well together,' Sirius asked. Hermione could see he was conflicted. He wanted to go save Harry but he didn't want to go with Snape.

'You two are the most capable wizards in the Order and too much suspicion would be raised if any of the other teachers went. You are Harry's only hope. We will buy you time with what ever they want us to do. We must keep in contact. Send messages with owls and your patronuses. Never use the same owl twice and use code.'

'Hang on. We haven't agreed to it yet,' Snape growled. He clearly did not want to go.

'Fine. You two stay here and talk it out. You will find myself and Miss Granger in the Hospital Wing with Mr Weasley.' With that Dumbledore got up and strode out the room. Hermione was a bit slower out. As she went to close the door, she stole a quick look inside and saw Snape and Sirius glaring at each other in such a way that, if looks could kill, there would be a massacre.

A/N

What did you think? Is it worth me continuing? Please review and let me know

Until next time

Jen


	3. Chapter 3: The Great Escape?

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot

Summary: Harry is in danger. There are only two people who can save him. Two people who hate each other, Sirius and Snape. Can they put their differences aside and save Harry?

A/N

Sorry it took me so long to update. But here is my next chapter, hope you like it.

Chapter 3: The Great Escape?

Harry awoke to find he was in a dark and bare cell. He vaguely remembered being hit with a spell but he couldn't remember who by or why. He carefully sat up; as he did he became aware of a searing pain in his spine. He gasped, the pain taking him by surprise. For ages he just sat there slowly breathing, in and out, in and out, waiting for the pain to stop or at least lessen.

As Harry sat there, bits and pieces of what happened came back to him. He had been at Hogsmeade when he was attacked by Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy had knocked out Ron and Hermione, but Harry had managed to immobilise him. He had tried to free Ron and Hermione when someone had stunned him. Who had stunned him? He hadn't been able to see their face. He just heard their voice. Was it a man or a woman? A woman. He remembered now. It had been a woman's voice. She must have been another Death Eater. There to help Malfoy if he got into trouble, like he did.

Harry didn't know how long he sat there but he knew it must have been a long time. He was getting hungry and as there was no window in his cell, he had absolutely no idea what the time might be. He just wanted to know what was going to happen to him. Were they going to kill him? The more he thought about them killing him, the less afraid he got. He realised that at least if he died now he wouldn't have to see any more of the people he loved die. He actually decided that he would quite like to die. And with that thought he lay down on the cold ground, for he had no bed, and went to sleep.

Harry was awoken by a loud shout.

'The Dark Lord wants Potter to be in his chambers by one. So why haven't you given him food so he will be at least some fun for the Dark Lord to torture?' A angry voice demanded.

'Err…um,' someone stuttered.

'Well?' The first voice shouted. Harry wearily wiped his eyes and sat up in order to be able to hear what they were saying better.

'I didn't realise the time, and the food hadn't been brought down yet,' the second voice said rather lamely.

'_You _were supposed to get the food and _you_ were supposed to have cast a spell to stop yourself forgetting.' There was an awkward silence, where there seemed to be a lot of coughing, before the first voice yelled, 'well? What are you waiting for? Go get that food now!' Harry heard footsteps hastily retreating. He assumed it was the second person going to get his food. Harry was pleased that he would be eating soon. But he couldn't forget what the first person had said 'so he will be at least some fun to torture'. At least, Harry thought miserably, I know what is coming and maybe they will tell me why the hell I'm here. Harry heard the door open, and quickly laid down pretending to be asleep. He didn't know quite why he was pretending to be asleep, but he knew that whether they believed he was asleep or not, they were going to take him to Voldemort and probably to his death.

'Get up, you,' said a gruff voice, while nudging him with his foot, 'I have food for you. Hurry up and eat it, the Dark Lord wants a word with you.' Harry begrudgingly sat up and took the food that was pushed roughly into his hands.

'Why have you brought me here?' Harry asked rather bravely.

'The Dark Lord will tell you that and if you don't hurry up and eat that, I'll take it away and you can face him hungry,' the man threatened. As Harry ate, he realised that that man wasn't the owner either of the voices he heard earlier. He wondered what had happened to them. But decided he didn't actually care.

Harry ate slowly, trying to delay the inevitable he guessed. But what he knew was that if he was going to die, he wouldn't just lie there and take it. He would fight.

'Come on,' the man whispered threateningly. Harry looked up at the sound of the voice; he had forgotten that he was there. 'The Dark Lord won't wait forever and you really don't want him to come and get you,' he finished with a smirk.

'I think Voldemort,' he began, he noticed, with a degree of satisfaction, that the Death Eater flinched at the sound of Voldemort's name. Scared of his own master, Harry thought. 'Will be angrier with you as it is your job to take me there not mine. And,' Harry ploughed on, seeing how scared the Death Eater was becoming, 'I'm not scared of him like you are. You're scared of your own master. Whereas I just hate him.' The Death Eater stared at him.

'If you're not scared of the Dark Lord then you will be ready to face him now then,' he said, trying not to let his own fear show. Harry paused realising what was coming.

'Fine. Let's get it over with,' Harry replied, showing much more courage than he felt. He stood up and preyed his legs would support him. He knew Voldemort could only have kidnapped him to kill him, and he didn't have his wand, so he stood no chance. Harry followed the Death Eater out of his cell. When they reached the end of the corridor, another Death Eater joined them and promptly stabbed his wand into Harry back, and whispered threateningly, 'If you try anything I will pull your spine out of your back.' As they walked along Harry wondered whether that was actually possible.

'Not sure Voldemort would be pleased if you bring me to him dead.'

'Who said it would kill you?' Harry was sure that it wasn't possible but it shut him up all the same. One thing he did know was that he would have get difficulty standing up to Voldemort with no spine. Finally they reached a door with a snake handle. The first Death Eater rapped smartly on the door with his knuckles, and the door immediately opened to reveal a dark, round room. Harry was pushed roughly into the room by the second Death Eater and took a look at his surroundings. The walls had flame torches all the way around, giving the room a medieval glow. The floor and walls were all made out of stone blocks with words carved into them. Words from every language, all words of death. Harry could see that the floor had been stained with blood in several places. Whether from torture or ritual, Harry had no idea. But he had a feeling his blood would soon be staining the floor too. And the thing that scared Harry most of all was the huge stone, raised circle in the middle of the room. It had shackles on it that would hold the wrists and ankles of a person. But the thing that made this particularly scary was the person tied to it. He couldn't make out the person clearly as they were too far away in the bad light. So he couldn't even tell if the person was alive or not. Harry looked back behind him only to discover that the two Death Eaters had gone. He slowly made his way over to the stone circle. Praying it wasn't anyone he knew. But before he could get there he heard a cry of '_Crucio!_' At the sound, Harry quickly dropped to the ground and felt the spell zooming over him and heard it hit the wall. Harry looked around to see Voldemort.

'Well, Harry. It seems your reflexes have improved greatly since our last meeting in the graveyard.' Harry stood up and faced Voldemort like he planned he would. And instead of feeling terrified, like he did the last time and thought he would. He almost felt sure that Voldemort wouldn't kill him. Not without Harry having his wand any way. And if Harry got his wand, he knew that he would have a fighting chance of getting out of there alive.

'Being brave to the end, I see, Harry.' Harry knew Voldemort was testing him, seeing what reaction he could get out of him. 'I suppose you are wondering why you are here?' Voldemort began conversationally. 'You see, I want my Death Eaters back. I want my most loyal back, and with them I will be able to get more.'

'So, what's the plan? Use me, saying you'll kill me if they don't release them?'

'Oh my, you have such good predictions!' Voldemort said in mock glee.

'That will never work!' Harry laughed. 'They won't release murderers to save me. The wizarding world hates me at the moment. And it will be showing you're back.'

'Yes, but that's not all I want. You see I also want to hear the prophecy.'

'What prophecy?' Harry asked.

'Don't tell me, dear old Dumbledore, never told you about the prophecy?' Voldemort laughed. Harry couldn't be sure if Voldemort was telling the truth or not but he had a feeling he was. Why wouldn't have Dumbledore have told him?

'What did the prophecy say?'

'If I knew that I wouldn't want to hear it now would I?' Voldemort started. 'But I'll tell you this much, it's about you and me. So if you are as curious a person as I think you are, you will want to hear this prophecy as much as I do.' Harry didn't answer. It was true he wanted to hear the prophecy, but he didn't want Voldemort to.

'So, what are you going to do to me?' Harry asked, changing the subject.

'Nothing, yet. You are not ready. But soon.' And with that, Voldemort turned and walked out the room, his robes billowing around him. Harry stared after him a long while. Thinking about what he had been told. That's when Harry remembered. The person tied to the stone circle! He turned around and starting walking briskly towards the circle. Harry stopped, five feet away from the circle. Even though he was that close he still couldn't see who was on it. He couldn't even see if they were male or female, dead or alive. Harry took a few more tentative steps forward, dreading what he might see. He could now vaguely make out who was there. _No! It couldn't be. Was it…? _thought Harry. Harry was just about to take a step forward, when he heard the door open. One of the Death Eaters was there.

'Come here now!' he bellowed. Harry took a fleeting look at the person and slowly made his way towards the door. That was when he was hit with a sudden idea. He knew it was a long shot. But there was only one of him. Maybe…no…yes. He could do it. He was sure he could. He reached the Death Eater. He was pushed through the door, but he still continued to walk slowly, finding his moment.

'Get a move on. I have things to do, other than baby…' Before he managed to finish his sentence, Harry span around and smacked him, hard, in the face. He was lucky, he had caught the Death Eater of guard and he dropped to his knees. Harry took that opportunity to hit him again. As he fell to the floor, Harry grabbed the Death Eaters wand from his pocket and yelled, '_Stupefy!'_ The Death Eater fell flat on his face, unconscious. Harry turned and ran. He didn't even know where he was going; he was just running, praying that he might find a way out. After a very short while, he realised he had absolutely no idea where the exit was. He didn't even know what floor he was on. He knew it had more than one floor because he had been taken up some stairs. He stopped running and looked around him. Very conscious he had very little time before someone realised what had happened. He noticed a door with 'Stairs' written on it and decided to try his luck. He grabbed the door handle and yanked the door open, as soon as he did it, he regretted it. There on the other side of the door was Lucius Malfoy. Just as Harry reached for the stolen Death Eater wand he heard Malfoy shout, '_Stupefy!'_ and everything went dark.

A/N

So what did you think? Please review and let me know, even if you just want to yell at me for wasting your time with such a rubbish chapter. So please REVIEW

Until next time

Jen


	4. Chapter 4: The Argument

Diclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. But you all know that

A/N

Sorry it has taken so long for me to update but I have had serious writer's block. This chapter finally has some Sirius and Snape interaction. Anyway, enjoy

Chapter 4: The argument

Snape's POV

Snape couldn't believe the nerve of Dumbledore! Asking him to work with Black! He could just see how it would go, Black acting as if he was God's gift and trying to kill him, again. Snape knew they couldn't work together. They would kill each other! Even though saving Potter is a good cause, but only for the good of the wizarding world. Not because of Potter. He was arrogant and useless just like his worthless father.

Sirius was fidgeting. He clearly wanted to go save Harry but didn't know how he and Snape could work together. Finally Snape broke the silence.

'This will not work,' he said bluntly. 'We cannot work together.'

'I know we don't get on. But I can't leave Harry. I would work with the Devil himself, if I thought it would save Harry.' Snape was impressed until he heard Sirius mutter under his breath, 'and it looks like I have to.'

'I heard that Black. And I would like to remind you that _you_ tried to kill _me_. I, however, have done no such thing.'

'What? You have!' Sirius practically shouted. 'Do you remember the dementors? You were very keen to hand me back over to them.'

'If you remember, I had good reason. I thought you were a murderer. And the dementors wouldn't have killed you,' Snape stated.

'No, they would have done much worse. And I was innocent, but that didn't matter to you, did it? So don't play the high and mighty with me!' Snape saw, with a touch of satisfaction, he had clearly annoyed Black. Although, he did feel a slight pang of guilt. Knowing that if Potter hadn't stopped him, he would have sent an innocent man to the dementors. He wouldn't have minded. But he knew now that whatever Black thought of him, he would never do such a thing.

'We still can't work together. We would do more damage than good,' Snape growled, desperately trying to think of reasons why he couldn't work with Sirius.

'Not if we both keep our tempers. I don't like this any more than you do. But if you don't agree to help Harry, then what you are doing to him is a thousand times worse than what you tried to do to me. He has never done anything to you, and you would be willing to leave him with Voldemort. Leave him there to die!' Sirius exclaimed. Snape knew what he was trying to do. Guilt trip him into going. He was ashamed to say, it was working. He had never felt forced to do anything, expect spy for Dumbledore. But to a certain extent he wanted to do that. He wanted to help save the wizarding community.

'They will find me out and my cover will be blown,' Snape began. 'I would no longer be able to spy for the Order and as such would lose valuable information, as well as probably my life. As the Dark Lord certainly wouldn't let me live.' Snape continued, scraping the bottom of the barrel for reasons.

'Dumbledore wouldn't have said you should go if that was the case. Anyway, are you really telling me that the mighty Professor Snape,' Sirius began, clearly thinking flattery would be the best course of action, 'can't do a descent disguise charm?' Snape stared at him. _He must be desperate,_ he thought, _to resort to such pathetic flattery._

'Of course I can do disguise charms. Even you could do that!' Snape couldn't resist adding a little dig at Sirius, but to his credit he didn't react. He didn't seem to even care that Snape had insulted him but before he would have hit the roof. _He must really care about Potter, _Snape noted. 'But doing one good enough to fool the Dark Lord is another thing all together.'

'You just don't want to go.'

'What a brilliant deduction! Your intelligence never ceases to amaze me!' Snape said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

'Severus, please,' Snape gave a little start at the sound of Sirius using his first name and pleading with him. 'You need to help. I need to find Harry. I can't leave him there. God only knows what Voldemort is doing to him. If he was hurt I would never be able to forgive myself.' Snape was shocked to see the tears forming in Sirius' eyes. He had never really thought how Sirius must be feeling. Harry was the closest thing to family he had. Thinking about it made him feel ashamed. How could he have been so selfish? Potter risks his life all the time for the good of the wizarding world.

'Okay. Fine. I will do it. But we will need help. I will need you to help me with the disguise charms and we will need to find someone who knows where the Dark Lord's new hideout is. I have never been there. But I'm sure Dumbledore had someone find where it is.' Snape could see Sirius was shocked by Snape's agreement to help and he took some satisfaction from it.

'We need to go and talk to Dumbledore then,' Sirius said, still sounding a bit shocked. Snape didn't even answer he just span round and exited the room with his cloak billowing out behind him, in its usual fashion that he loved so much. Sirius followed, a bit less dramatically.

When they arrived at the Hospital Wing, they saw Dumbledore comforting Hermione as Ron had not woken up. Even though he had been given a sleeping potion to stop him waking Hermione didn't seem to care. She just felt she had to cry.

'Headmaster. We have decided that we will do as you ask and go to find Potter,' Snape announced, although he did still sound a bit bitter about it. Dumbledore looked up at the sound of Snape talking.

'Excellent.'

'Do you know where Voldemort is keeping Harry?' Sirius asked.

'No I don't. But Remus has found out and he was supposed to be coming here to tell me what he has discovered but we haven't been able to find a mutual convenient time. But you can go to him and with his help, I am sure you will be able to find Harry,' Dumbledore stated matter of factly.

'Okay.' Snape knew as soon as that little word had left his mouth, that he would regret it, a lot.

A/N

Not a very exciting chapter but I hope you liked it anyway. Just a little teaser you will find out who is on the stone circle in chapter 6. And chapter 5 has more Sirius and Snape interaction

Until next time,

Jen


	5. Chapter 5: The Plan

Disclaimer: I own nothing expect the plot.

A/N

I know it has takenme forever to post this chapter but I got so stuck. It was unbelievable. I'm not thrilled with this chapter but the next chapter is much more interesting. So I hope you enjoy it and I'm sorry it took so long

Chapter 5: The Plan

Sirius' POV

Sirius was standing in Snape's private quarters waiting for Snape to get changed. They had decided that his robes were too much of a trademark and that they would give him away. Sirius was still angry that he had to work with Snape but he knew he didn't have a choice. He was just praying that he could stand him long enough to find Harry and get him out alive. They still hadn't come up with a satisfactory plan and they were going to have to brainstorm before they left. As, right now, all they could agree on was going to see Remus.

The sound of a door opening and closing announced that Snape had come back into the room. Sirius turned to look at him and was shocked at how different he looked. He had changed into blue jeans and a black jumper. _Muggle clothes_, Sirius thought, _good idea._

'Are you going to change?' Snape hissed, eyeing Sirius' tatty robes. Sirius was still on the run so he didn't have nice clothes.

'I thought I'd do the journey in animagus form as I am still a wanted criminal,' Sirius replied calmly. He could see Snape was unhappy. 'Oh brighten up. It means we won't have to talk much.' That seemed to cheer Snape up a great deal.

'Ok, so what's our plan?' Snape asked.

'Actually I've had an idea.' Sirius said. Ignoring Snape's sarcastic mutter of 'this should be good,' he pressed on. 'Firstly, we need to disguise you.'

'Well obviously,' Snape snapped. Sirius continued as though there had been no interruption.

'Then we need to see Remus and once there we can find where Voldemort is hiding. Then we should change your disguise again to keep the enemy confused. But until we know what Voldemort's hideout we can't come up with a plan. Although I think we can both agree it can't be a smash and grab job. He will be too well protected,' Sirius finished. Snape didn't look impressed. Sirius wasn't surprised it wasn't a particularly brilliant plan. But they knew very little of what Voldemort might be doing so it would have to do.

'A five year old could have come up with that plan,' Snape growled.

'Do you have a better one?' Sirius replied pleasantly. Inside Sirius was fuming but he wasn't going to let Snape know that he was getting to him.

'It will do. Now help me with the disguise charms. The face is too complicated for me to do alone.' Sirius pulled his wand out of his pocket and moved towards Snape.

'Any preferences of how you want to look?' Sirius asked. Snape glared at him.

'Just different. You do the face charms and I'll do the rest of me. Do you think you can manage that?' Snape asked patronisingly. Sirius scowled at him but didn't say anything. Instead he started the complex disguise charms on Snape's face. He decided to give him short blonde hair, blue eyes and he got rid of Snape's gaunt look and made him look like he had eaten. He then got rid of the hook in Snape's nose. _There, _Sirius thought, _that's different._ He wasn't handsome but he didn't draw attention. Sirius stepped back and saw that Snape had made himself more muscled and toned. Sirius smirked. Trust Snape to try and make himself look attractive.

'What are you grinning at?' Snape snapped.

'Oh, nothing.' Snape didn't look convinced but he moved to the mirror to see the work Sirius had done on his face.

'I suppose it's adequate. Let's hope that no one gets suspicious and tries to get through the charms as I'm not sure yours would hold up.'

'And yours would I suppose,' Sirius shot back angrily.

'Of course,' Snape replied shortly. They stood there glaring at each other for a while before Snape broke the silence, something Sirius had been determined not to do.

'Do you know where Lupin lives now?'

'Yes. We can floo there, it's easier than finding a safe place to apparate. He's connected to the floo network. Illegally of course, so the ministry can't catch him. Last thing he needs really. Are you ready?'

'Yes. What's the address?' Snape hissed.

'It's Muddle Cottage, Nottingham.'

'Fine.' Snape stepped forward to the fireplace and grabbed the floo powder from a pot next to it. Sirius watched him step into the fire and bellow, 'Muddle Cottage, Nottingham.' He started spinning fast and then he was gone. Sirius sighed and grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fire. _Oh well, here it goes, _Sirius thought before shouting, 'Muddle Cottage, Nottingham.' He started spinning and he was hurtling through various fireplaces, catching glimpses of other wizarding families enjoying their relaxing evening. Sirius envied them. He had never had that, even when he was younger. The next second he was stepping out of the fireplace into Lupin's living room. He brushed the ash off his robes. He looked up at Snape to see him standing there looking shocked.

'What's wrong with you? Are you…' Sirius stopped mid-sentence for he had just looked at the room he was in. It was in complete disarray. Chairs knocked over, paper thrown about the room, tables on their sides. Nothing in its right place. But the thing that had made Snape stop in shock, the thing that made Sirius fall to his knees and bury his face in his hands, was the large amount of blood covering the floor by the door and the drag marks leading from it.

A/N

So what did you think. Let me know even if you are just going to yell at me for wasting your time. Anyway the next chapter is going to be much better. I won't tell you too much but poor little Harry is going to get hurt.

Until next time,

Jen


	6. Chapter 6: The Stone Circle

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot

A/N

Not much to say other than enjoy...

Chapter 6: The Stone Circle

Harry's POV

When Harry awoke, he thought he was back at Hogwarts. Waking up in his comfy four-poster bed, with his friends all around him. But the throbbing pain in his back and the coldness of his surroundings, quickly alerted him to the fact he couldn't possibly be back at Hogwarts. He was with Voldemort.

Harry heaved a sigh as he pushed himself into a sitting position. He had been so close to escaping, if he had just gone a different way. Not gone to the door marked 'Stairs'. Maybe he would have made it out. _Oh well. No point crying about it now. It happened,_ he thought. Harry surveyed his surroundings something he hadn't done before. He was back in the cell. How long had he been unconscious? How long had he been missing? Harry sat there for what seemed like hours trying to think of a way to escape. Just trying to remain positive. But, right now, he couldn't see anyway out of this. He was completely at the mercy of Voldemort. And he knew, mercy, was one thing Voldemort didn't have.

Harry continued to sit there. And after a while he realised he still had a chance. Voldemort always gives him a chance. He wouldn't kill Harry without toying with him. He enjoyed fighting Harry, duelling with him. He would only be happy if he killed Harry fairly, or at least as fairly as Voldemort ever fights. That gave Harry hope and it was then that he heard movement outside of his cell. He listened more carefully and heard a whispered spell. Someone was coming to get him! He felt a glimmer of hope. Someone was here! They were going to get him out. That hope died the second he saw who opened the door. A Death Eater. Harry glared at him, trying to put all the venom he was feeling into that one look. The Death Eater smirked.

"Now don't look like that," he laughed. "The Dark Lord wants a word." Harry didn't move. He didn't care anymore and he wanted to see what this Death Eater would do if he refused to come. "Get up."

"No," came Harry's reply. He saw a vein begin to throb on the Death Eater's forehead, much like Uncle Vernon's when he got angry.

"Get up right now!" The Death Eater bellowed. He pulled out his wand and pointed it directly at Harry. Harry smiled.

"Go on then. I dare you." Harry let the smile play on his lips, knowing it would anger the Death Eater further. The Death Eater looked conflicted. He obviously wanted to hurt Harry but he didn't want to disobey orders. Finally, the Death Eater flicked his wand at Harry. Harry felt binds around his wrists and ankles. Then the Death Eater jerked his wand again and Harry was floated towards him. The Death Eater moved him out of the cell like this. Down a series of corridors. That's when Harry realised, they were going back to the round room.

When they reached their destination, the Death Eater undid Harry's binds and threw him into the room, without looking and promptly closed the door. Harry looked around him, ready to dodge any attack Voldemort might send his way. But he couldn't see anyone in the room. He scanned the room again and the stone circle caught his eye. Was the person still tied there? Were they okay? He starting running to the circle. Determined that this time, he would see who was there and help him if he could.

Harry got to up to five paces from the circle. He could see the person was still there. But he stopped. He realised he was scared. What if they were dead? What if it was Sirius? Or Hermione? Or Ron? Or anyone he cared about. He steeled himself to keep going. They might need his help. He took a step forward. He could make out a vague shape. It was an adult. He took another step. He could see it was male. He took a deep breath before taking another step. The man was wearing torn robes. But they were robes, that made him a wizard. When Harry took the next step he saw, the male wizard was covered in blood. Harry's stomach gave a lurch. One more step and he would know who it was. He half expected someone to come and stop him. But he stretched out his leg and took that final step. He looked down at the blood covered man on the circle and immediately recognised him…

"Lupin! Oh my God. Lupin." Harry couldn't believe it he hadn't seen him since he was forced to resign from Hogwarts. And he wished with all his heart he wasn't seeing him now. Covered in blood, dead looking in fact. Harry didn't know whether he was dead or alive. _Please be alive_, he thought desperately.

"Lupin? Lupin?" No response. Harry summoned up the last of his courage and felt for a pulse. At first he couldn't find one and he thought his own heart would stop. Then he felt it so weak but there.

"Harry," a voice hissed from behind him. He spun round to be face to face with Voldemort. He involuntarily took a step backwards and hit the circle. "I see you've finally seen Lupin. Doesn't look too good these days, does he? But he never really did, did he?"

"What have you done to him? Why is he here?" Harry demanded.

"Did you think you were special, Harry? Did you think I only needed you?" Voldemort sneered. "Aren't you full of self importance." Harry glared at him.

"Let him go."

"No. I need him for a little bit longer. You see, I've come to realise in all that time I had no body. That two hostages are better than one as now it doesn't matter if I kill one of you. Plus little Lupin is so much fun to torture. He's a good screamer." Voldemort added with a sadistic smile. Harry felt sick. He had to help Lupin. He had to kill Voldemort now. And at that point, it all seemed perfectly clear. Just kill Voldemort. It's simplicity itself. Harry lunged. But Voldemort simply side stepped him, sneering. Harry rounded back round on him. Oh how he wanted a wand.

"You are so predictable. But if you feel left out I'm sure Lupin wouldn't mind if we tortured you for a bit," Voldemort drawled. "_Crucio._" Harry fell to the ground. But he refused to make a noise. He screamed so loudly in his head that he was sure Voldemort would be able to hear it and he was as close to passing out as you could get without actually passing out, but not a sound escaped his lips. Then the pain was gone.

"I'm impressed Harry. Not many people could take that and not even make a sound. I wonder how long you can keep it up for," Voldemort said, with what seemed like interest in his voice. "_Crucio_." Harry started shaking on the ground again but refused to make a noise. He wouldn't give Voldemort the satisfaction. But after the fourth cry of '_crucio_', Harry could no longer keep it up. And he screamed. He screamed so loudly he thought his lungs would burst. The pain was shooting up and down his body. It was unbearable. He couldn't take any more. He was going to die. He could feel it. Then it stopped. Harry stopped screaming and looked up to see the satisfied look on Voldemort's face.

"I knew I could make you scream Potter," Voldemort hissed. Harry looked away. He wanted to hurt Voldemort. He wanted to kill him. But he pain was still really bad. It felt like all his nerve endings were on fire. "Stand up Potter." Harry ignored him.

"I said stand up," Voldemort hissed, dangerously. Harry moved to try and stand up but pain shot up his spine and he fell back to the ground.

"Pathetic," Voldemort spat. "I thought you had courage. But you can't even stand and face your own death. Be a man." Harry stayed on the ground, unable to move. "Your father would be so disappointed in you. But then, I doubt he would have faced his death either. He was the biggest coward I have ever met." It was such an obvious taunt. He was trying to anger Harry, to make him put up a fight. And Harry rose to the bait.

"My father was not a coward," he growled.

"Even so, you are. Can't even fight like a man," Voldemort snarled. Harry could feel his anger rising. It was taking him over. It filled his head more than the pain. He shakily pushed himself into a sitting position. Then with all of his remaining strength his pushed himself up and into a half standing, half slouching position. He looked over and saw the circle right next to him and he used it to push himself up straight and he looked Voldemort directly in the eyes.

"I am not a coward," he stated. Voldemort mouth curled into a smile.

"I'm impressed. I didn't think you would manage it," Voldemort laughed. Harry stayed standing, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to form in his eyes. The pain filling all of his senses, trying to take him over. He continued to stare at Voldemort, his eyes daring him to make the next move. Voldemort smiled. Harry tensed, he knew that whatever was coming could only be bad.

Voldemort flicked his wand. Harry screamed. It felt like someone had stabbed him in the chest. He looked down and saw blood seeping through his shirt. In the back of his mind he wondered how deep it was. He also wondered how long it would take him to bleed to death from it. But he didn't fall down. He looked back at Voldemort and smiled.

"That the best you can do?" The moment he said it, he knew it had been a mistake. The look in Voldemort's eyes told him, it had been a mistake. He saw Voldemort wave his wand again and again. Each time another gash appeared on Harry. The force of the attack, knocked Harry backwards and he fell to the floor. He fell against Lupin as he hit the stone and then the floor. But still Voldemort's attacks kept coming. He knew he had cuts all over him now and the blood had now completely stained his shirt and trousers. He pain was getting too much. His vision began to blur.

"Harry?" It was Lupin's voice. Harry wanted to reply. He wanted to help Lupin. To untie, get him out of there, anything. But he couldn't move. He was lying on his back staring at the ceiling, waiting for Voldemort's next attack, waiting for the killing blow. Then Voldemort's face filled his vision, he could see his lips moving, but he couldn't make out any of the words. He saw Voldemort lift his wand, and just before he lost consciousness he smiled, he was right, his blood would be staining the floor after all.

A/N

So what did you think? Good? Bad? Please tell me I need to know. The next chapter is more about Hermione and Ron.

Until next time

Jen


	7. Chapter 7: The Note

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Yada yada yada

A/N

Sorry I haven't updated in a while but I have been extremely busy and this chapter was a pain to write. Therefore this chapter isn't my favourite but I really like the next one.

Chapter 7: The Note

Hermione's POV

Hermione was sitting next to Ron's bed. She had barely moved since he was brought there after the attack three days ago. Harry had been missing for three days. Sometimes she thought she would die from the pain Harry's capture and Ron's injury had brought her. But things were looking up, Ron had woken up yesterday and that had enabled Madam Pomfrey to do the final spells to heal him. And he was going to be leaving the hospital wing that afternoon. When Ron had woken up, Hermione had been so pleased that she had actually screamed, which had effectively woken up the entire wing and caused several teachers to come running in, afraid there had been an attack.

"Hermione? Are you still here?" Ron asked quietly.

"Yes Ron. I'm here. I'm not going any where.'

"Hermione, go back to class," Ron ordered.

"What? You want me to go?" Hermione asked, hurt. She blinked back her tears and looked earnestly into Ron's face.

"You've been here for three days. You must have missed loads of lessons. It must be killing you," Ron joked.

"Ron, you know, you and Harry mean more to me than anything else. And stop acting like you're on your death bed. I know perfectly well you are fine," Hermione growled.

"Spoil my fun." Ron smiled. "Where's Harry?" No one had told Ron about Harry yet, and Hermione really didn't want to be the one to tell him. But she guessed she had no choice, he had to know.

"Erm…" she began shakily.

"What? What happened?" Ron asked, the confusion showing in his voice.

"After you got knocked out, I was put in a full body bind…and Harry was left fighting Lucius Malfoy by himself," Hermione stopped unable to find the words.

"Malfoy captured him?" Ron asked, tears glistening in his eyes.

"Not exactly…Harry beat him. He immobilised him but…" Again Hermione stopped. It was so much harder telling Ron than it had been telling Dumbledore, Sirius and Snape. She could see in his eyes how much it was hurting him.

"What happened? Where's Harry? Is he okay?" Ron asked desperately. His voice seemed to be pleading with Hermione, asking her to tell him everything was fine and Harry would be there any minute.

"Bellatrix Lestrange came up behind him and…st…stunned him. Then together with Malfoy, she took him away. Snape came later and saved us. But…but he was too late to help Harry," Hermione finished.

"Where is he? Who's looking for him? We need to help. We have to…" Hermione shook her head.

"Sirius and Snape have gone to look for him. They are at Lupin's now," Hermione told him. "There's not much else we can do."

"Oh God. I can't believe this. If anything happens to Harry I will never be able to forgive myself."

"It wasn't your fault. It was no one's fault. I just want to know how they knew we were going to be at the Shrieking Shack,' Hermione whispered.

"They must have followed us."

"How could they? Malfoy was already there on the other side and even if _he_ followed us, Lestrange came later so she wouldn't have been able to follow us. And if they came together they would have attacked together," Hermione said, puzzled.

"Could they have apparated?" Ron asked.

"We would have heard them. And they had a portkey close by ready to take Harry away. They knew we were going to be there," Hermione stated. Hermione had been pondering this for a while, and the only thing she could think of was someone had been spying on them. Listening to their plans, but who?

"How did Snape know we were there? He could have tipped the Death Eaters off," Ron said.

"Don't start that again. Why would Snape look for Harry if he arranged for him to be taken?" Ron opened his mouth to say something but Hermione ploughed on saying, "He found us because he was looking and he wasn't the only teacher looking, he just happened to be the one who found us. And he tried to save you when he found us. He used really complicated magic that I've only ever heard rumours about. It would have really drained him, yet he still managed to carry you back to the castle. So it wasn't him, okay?"

"I suppose so. But it was a valid guess," Ron replied. But Hermione just glared. She decided it was best to change the subject.

"Pleased to be getting out of here today?" She asked. She knew it was a stupid question but she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Yeah. It's driving me mad."

"You only woke up yesterday! You've been here two days and it's already driving you mad?" Hermione laughed.

"It's boring. I almost miss lessons." Hermione was shocked. He missed lessons? "I said 'almost'."

"Fine." They sat together for several more hours. Talking about what was happening but trying not to talk about Harry too much as it just upset them.

Ron had finally been discharged from the hospital wing and Hermione was now escorting him to the Gryffindor common room. She was determined not to mention Harry, it was pointless worrying Ron, which was why she hadn't told him everything. Like the ransom. She was terrified about what might be happening to Harry but she refused to hurt Ron with her thoughts. She would rather die than hurt him.

As the walked down the corridors, people kept saying how pleased they were that Ron was up and about and that they hoped Harry would be allowed back from St Mongo's soon. When they someone first said it to Ron, he looked completely shocked and confused. Then he did the worse thing possible, as soon as they had gone he rounded on Hermione.

"You lied to me!" he bellowed. "Did it give you a cheap thrill telling me that Harry had been kidnapped? What were you playing at? I never thought you would do something like that!" Hermione just stood there, unable to move. She couldn't believe he could think so little of her.

"I wasn't lying. We told everyone he had been injured and taken to St Mongo's. We didn't want mass panic," Hermione told him. He looked shocked, then ashamed. Hermione turned away from him, tears threatening to fall.

"Hermione?" Ron began. "I'm sorry. I just…just didn't want it to be true." Hermione turned back to him, ready to yell at him. When a huge eagle owl came flying straight towards them and dropped a letter at Hermione's feet. They both just looked at it at first, then Hermione picked it up.

"Who's it from?" Ron asked.

"Don't know. Hang on," Hermione replied, their earlier argument forgotten. She ripped open the letter. She held the note so Ron could read it as well.

_Hermione and Ron,_

_You need to meet me in the Hogshead in Hogsmeade tonight. It's important. Too important to convey through messages. Be there at 10. _

_Sirius_

Hermione continued to stare at the note long after she read it. The word 'important' kept jumping out at her. Also, the whole message seemed very erupt. It was obviously written quickly.

"This must have something to do with Harry," Ron whispered.

"Yeah." Was all the response Hermione could manage.

"How are we going to get out of the castle? They aren't going to just let us walk out of here, you know."

"Yeah, I know. We're going to have to use Harry's invisibility cloak." Hermione was on auto-pilot. She wasn't even thinking about what she was saying. It was like she was out of her body. Floating around over them, looking down. She knew they were going to be in trouble if they were caught but she didn't care. 'And we will have to go through the statue Harry said about, behind the humpbacked witch." Ron nodded mutely. Hermione suspected he was thinking the same as her. What had Sirius found out? Why wasn't he going to Dumbledore with it?

Hermione was waiting outside the common room for Ron to come back with the invisibility cloak. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it was going to break out of her chest. She was getting anxious waiting for Ron. If someone saw her outside the common room they would make her go inside and it would be so much harder to get out. Then she saw the portrait hole open but no one came through.

"You took your time," she growled.

"Sorry." Ron lifted the cloak so she could see where he was. She got under herself and they made sure they were completely covered. Then it was time to go. They set off through the school. Every sound sounding sinister. Every shadow looking like a Death Eater. When they were younger they used to worry about running into to Filch or Mrs Norris. Now they had bigger things to worry about. And such little things rarely entered their minds. Although, Hermione had to admit running into Filch or Mrs Norris now would be very inconvenient. But they were lucky. They made it all the way to the statue without running into anyone. But that was where their luck ran out. Hermione tapped the statue with her wand and muttered the spell, Harry told her would open the statue. And immediately it sprang to life, opening to reveal a hole that one person could just manage to squeeze through. Hermione kept look out while Ron went first. At first he seemed to get stuck. He panicked before realising if he just moved his arm slightly he could just about get through. Hermione removed the cloak and dropped it through and then started to go through herself. She had dropped down so only her head was visible, when Filch rounded the corner. She immediately dropped down and the statue closed over.

"Shit," she whispered.

"What? What happened?" Ron asked.

"I think Filch saw me. But I can't be sure, I dropped down quickly. So he may not have." Ron looked very worried and started to say something before Hermione cut across him.

"It doesn't matter. There's nothing we can do about it now. We just better move quickly," Hermione said determinedly. Ron looked like he was going to argue and then thought better of it.

"Okay. At least Filch is a squib. He won't be able to follow us," he said slightly more brightly. Hermione didn't have the heart to tell him Filch could just get a teacher to open it. They walked for what seemed like hours. Hermione was worried they were going to be late, it seemed to take much longer in the tunnel than walking the main path. Hermione kept thinking about Harry and what Sirius had to tell them. She was terrified. Under normal circumstances she would never have even considered doing this. It was only against the rules, it could get them killed. They could meet anyone in Hogsmeade. But all she could think was that they may be able to help Harry. She consoled herself by saying once they got to Sirius he would be able to protect them from any Death Eaters they may run into.

Just when she thought the tunnel would go on forever, they arrived at the trapdoor. That was when Hermione remembered the trapdoor came up into Honeydukes. They would have to be careful and pray nothing had been put on top of the door.

"We should go up with the cloak on, just in case," Hermione told Ron.

"Okay." Hermione looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to bring out the cloak.

"Well?" Hermione pressed.

"Well what?" Ron answered, confused.

"The cloak. We need to put it on."

"I don't have it," he replied simply.

"What? How can you not have it? I dropped it down to you before I came down the hole," Hermione demanded.

"No you didn't. You had the cloak. I came down moved forward and checked it out and when I came back you had just come down through the hole." Hermione ran her hands through her hair in frustration.

"Okay. We are going to have to make do without it. But remember to pick it up on the way back." Ron nodded and turned around to push open the trap door. It opened easily. Hermione was relived, she had been sure they we going to get stuck there. She was beginning to get a pounding headache. She just wanted to make it to the Hog's Head and find Sirius.

They carefully made their way out of Honeydukes and found the door open. _Careless,_ thought Hermione, _especially in times like these_. But they were glad for it. They saw the Hog's Head up ahead and made a bee line for it. Pleased to be nearly there. Hermione looked at her watch. It was 10:05, they were late. But not by much, they should be okay. Ron led the way into the Hog's Head. The second Hermione stepped into the building, she knew something was wrong. There was no one there. Not even the bartender. And after a quick scan of the room she saw there was no Sirius. No one. Not one person.

"We have to go," she told Ron. She reached behind her for the door handle but she hit fabric. Quickly she span around and standing there, in front of the door, was none other than Lucius Malfoy. She couldn't believe how stupid they had been. They had walked straight into a trap.

A/N

So? What do you think? Please review, I love to get feedback even if its bad.

Until next time,

Jen


	8. Chapter 8: Alone

A/N Sorry about the long wait. But I hope you enjoy despite that. So enjoy...

Chapter 8: Alone

Ron's POV

"My, my, my. Aren't we stupid?" Malfoy laughed. "That was too easy." Ron and Hermione immediately jumped several places back into the centre of the bar to put some distance between them and Malfoy.

"Where's Sirius?" Hermione stammered.

"How should I know? We assumed he'd be looking for Potter and it seems we were right." Lucius looked highly amused by the whole situation and Ron knew he was enjoying every second. He also knew if Malfoy was so pleased then they were in even more trouble than they imagined.

"What do you want?" Ron demanded.

"What makes you think I want anything?" he snarled.

"If you don't, then you went to a lot of trouble for no reason," Hermione answered.

"You're right. I do want something. I want lots of things but right now Granger. I want you." Ron immediately stepped in front of Hermione.

"You'll have to go through me first," Ron growled.

"Is that supposed to worry me? Without Golden Boy, you are both nothing. Wastes of space with no purpose. Let's face it. No one would notice you two if you weren't Potter's pets." Malfoy stopped for a moment to enjoy the looks of pain on both their faces. "Now, if you don't mind, the Dark Lord wants the mudblood and I'm supposed to deliver her."

"No," Ron replied simply. He drew his wand shakily and pointed it straight at Malfoy's heart. He wouldn't lose Hermione as well as Harry. He couldn't lose her. He knew that if he did he would just die.

"Ooh. Is the little pet building a spine? I hope so, I'll enjoy breaking it," Lucius stated with a sadistic smile. Malfoy's words send a shiver down Ron's spine and he knew Malfoy was serious. Then he felt Hermione move.

"You'll have to fight us both," she said calmly while drawing her wand. Hermione looked much more confident than Ron and her wand hand was not shaking even slightly. Ron admired her and took comfort in her bravery. He felt braver with her there, next to him.

"If you remember, I beat you both a few days ago when I took Potter."

"That was then. This is now," Ron replied simply.

"Hmmm," Malfoy replied with a shrug. "If you want to try and take me, by all means, try. But I warn you, I will not show restraint just because you are kids." Ron and Hermione hadn't moved their wands from pointing at Malfoy chest but he hadn't moved to even try and draw his. And this worried Ron. _He must be extremely confident to not even have his wand out, _Ron thought. _He must know something we don't._ He looked over at Hermione and could tell she was thinking along the same lines.

"_Stupefy!_" Ron cried. Nothing happened. It was like the spell disappeared in the air between them and Malfoy. Ron turned to Hermione worried.

"_Petrificus totalus,_" Hermione cried. Again, it was as though the spell vanished in the air. It left the wand but didn't make it to the target. "Very clever," Hermione sighed.

"I thought so," Malfoy returned with a grin. Hermione lowered her wand, looking defeated. Ron thought he could see tears forming in her eyes.

"What? What has he done?" Ron asked her bewildered.

"He cast a spell on the building. No magic can be cast except by the person who performed the spell. Meaning only he can cast spells. It's only temporary and it takes ages to set up. But it's a very strong spell if done right."

"Correct. It did take me a long time. But it's worth it just to see both of your faces. I wouldn't fancy its chances against the Dark Lord or the old codger or even Golden Boy. But it's definitely strong enough for you two." Malfoy looked victorious and the sight sickened Ron. He knew there was nothing he could do. He felt useless. And at that moment he saw what Malfoy was saying about him being Harry's pet. He couldn't do anything without Harry. He was pathetic. He fell to his knees with his neck bent. He couldn't believe this was happening.

"Given up already, have you? I always knew you were the weakest one. I mean, what do you actually do? Granger is the brains and Harry is the bravery and the Chosen One. And who are you? The ginger one? Hardly someone you turn to in an emergency." His words cut through Ron like a knife. It was something he had been feeling for years, living in Harry's shadow. He knew that if he wasn't friends with Harry, no one would even know who he was.

"He's more of a man than you'll ever be, Malfoy," Hermione growled.

"Ooh, original comeback. Maybe you aren't the brains after all, Granger. Maybe Potter does it all." Ron looked at Hermione. She still looked defiant. But he could now see the fear in her eyes. He had to be a man. He had to help her and not act like a pathetic wimp. He stood up and faced Malfoy.

"Oh well, on with business," Malfoy said drawing his wand. He waved his wand at Ron, not saying a word, and Ron fell to the ground clutching his chest. He felt like someone was twisting a knife in his chest. Trying to find out how far they could get the knife in before it came out the other side. The pain was unbearable. He just wanted it to stop, he was aware of how much he was screaming and it briefly went through his mind that maybe someone would hear him and come and help. But it went by quickly as the pain was filling every part of his mind, body and soul. He had never be in so much pain. If it didn't stop soon, he thought he would go mad. Then, blissfully, it stopped. He looked up to see Hermione pounded Malfoy's chest yelling and him laughing.

Malfoy pushed Hermione away and she fell to the floor. He didn't seem the least bit affected by Hermione's attack and actually seemed to be pleased with himself. And Ron could tell be the look in his eyes that he had only just started.

"I thought you only wanted me? Take me to Voldemort, to wherever. Just leave Ron alone." Hermione sobbed.

"I never said I only wanted you. I said I wanted lots of things. And one of those things is torture freckles here. He's such a good screamer." Ron felt sick. He knew he couldn't last long. But he also knew as soon as it stopped, Malfoy would take Hermione and then he would lose her as well as Harry. But before he could say or do anything Malfoy yelled, "_crucio!_" Ron felt as though he was being torn down the middle. This pain was worse than before. He couldn't think at all. All he could think, feel, even see was pain. Every second felt like a hundred years. He knew instinctively that his body wouldn't be able to cope with the pain very long. He always had a low pain threshold. Suddenly the pain stopped, but he was still in pain. He still hurt everywhere. He realised he was still screaming and he forced himself to be silent. He also realised he was on the floor and he curled into a ball trying to protect himself. He was sobbing but he didn't care. He felt like someone had been skinning him alive.

"Stop. Please just stop," Hermione screamed. "This isn't fair. You can't do this."

"Why can't I do this? What are you going to do?" Malfoy smirked. Ron was still sobbing on the floor and was only partially aware of the conversation going on around him. He could see Hermione lips moving but couldn't make out what she was saying. All he knew was that he had failed her. She was going to be taken and he could nothing. He tried to move, to do something but pain shot up and down his spine and he screamed. He noticed that neither Hermione nor Malfoy was looking at him anymore it was as though they had gotten bored of him. He forced himself to concentrate and listen to what they were talking about.

"…the Dark Lord will be pleased," Malfoy finished. Hermione looked crestfallen, as though she had just sold her soul to the devil. Malfoy on the other hand looked as though he had just won the lottery.

"Hermione?" Ron said softly. Hermione started crying and turned away from him. _What's happening,_ he thought, _what has Hermione done?_

"You're in luck weasel. Granger here, has saved you from some more torture," Malfoy paused and flashed an evil smile toward Hermione. "But I do still have a job for you."

"You said you'd leave him alone," Hermione cried, looking horrified.

"Don't worry. I just need him to deliver a message. Now, weasel, do you think you can manage that?" All Ron could manage was a nod. "Excellent. Tell the old codger that the Dark Lord wants the prophecy. He'll know what that is. And if the Dark Lord doesn't get it then lets just say people close to the headmaster will meet an unfortunate end." Malfoy glared down at Ron, he looked like he wanted to say or do something else. And Ron thought he saw his wand hand twitch as though he was going to cast a spell but thought better of it. "Granger, come here." Ron expected her to say no, to defy him slightly at least. But instead she just walked straight over to his side, with her eyes downcast.

"Remember to give him the message or Granger here will be the first to die. Understand?" Malfoy spat.

"Yes," Ron groaned.

"Excellent," Malfoy said briskly. He grabbed Hermione's arm and looked down at Ron.

"Pathetic," he growled. He turned as if to go then suddenly kicked Ron, hard, in the stomach. Ron gasped, tears forming in his eyes. Hermione said nothing and continued to stare at the ground. Malfoy pulled Hermione as he turned to leave.

"No," Ron gasped. At the sound of his voice, Hermione looked up and turned back to him, while being dragged out by Malfoy, and mouthed what looked like "I'm sorry." Then they were gone. _No!_ Ron thought. _This can't be happening._ Ron pulled himself into a sitting position, breathing through the pain. He sat there for what felt like an age, trying to get his breathing back to normal and trying to make sense of what just happened. _Why did she go with him so easily?_ He didn't understand. She didn't fight at all. Then the annoying voice at the back of his mind, the voice he always tried to ignore. It was the voice of the bare truth. _It's because of you,_ it whispered, _she did it to save you. And now they will hurt her. It's all your fault._ Tears formed in his eyes at the truth of the words. A sharp pain formed in his chest, and he knew immediately it was guilt. He should have saved her and not been so selfish.

He sat there for what seemed like hours, before he pulled himself together. He could still help her. He had to tell Dumbledore. At the thought of Dumbledore, he remembered Malfoy's message. He had to tell him! Hermione was counting on him. Slowly he stood up, feeling his body protesting after the pain it had been through, only a little while earlier. He looked at this watch it was 12:45. He had been there nearly three hours. He had to get back to the castle. He had to tell Dumbledore what had happened, even though he knew he would be in trouble for leaving the castle without telling anyone.

He scrambled out of the door of the pub and saw it was a very dark night. He could see very little and the cold hit him the face as soon as he left. He stumbled up the street back towards the school. He considered briefly going through Honeydukes, but decided against it. He didn't need to be unseen anymore, it didn't matter. He was in the worst trouble he could possibly be in. He had lost Harry and then through stupidity and cowardice he had lost Hermione as well. The thought of never seeing them again almost made him stop and fall to the ground, but he pushed himself forward. Not daring to stop, afraid if he did, he wouldn't be able to start again.

Just when he thought he couldn't go another step, he saw the castle. It was comforting. It meant he was nearly there. Soon he could stop and he could help Hermione. There was pain shooting through every part of his body. He felt as though he was on fire. He made it to the front doors, and pushed them open. He didn't even register that it was odd for the front doors to be open. They were never left open. He burst into the entrance hall, he realised there were a large group of people there and they all turned to look at him. But before he could see who they were, he fell to the floor.

"Hermione…" was all he managed to say before he passed out.

A/N I loved writing this chapter for the simple reason I got to torture Ron. evil grin


	9. Chapter 9: Waiting

A/N

Sorry about the long wait guys but I stopped for exams and then forgot I was writing the story and it wasn't until I got some review notifications that I remembered. So sorry about that. This is a short chapter as I wanted to get something on here quick. The next chapter is longer and pretty dark. Enjoy

Chapter 9: Waiting

Sirius' POV

Sirius was still on his knees with his head in his hands. He couldn't believe it. How had they found Remus? His house was unplottable. All he could think was 'why'? He didn't know what to do. He felt completely lost. Remus was their best way to save Harry and now Voldemort had him as well. What were they supposed to do? It seemed as though every way they turned, someone stopped them. Making sure they could never save Harry and they could never see anyone they loved ever again. He felt like dying. He felt like giving up was the only option and he should just lie on the floor and never get up again. And he might have if it hadn't been for Snape.

"Black? We need to tell Dumbledore," Snape whispered. Sirius didn't move. He didn't want to. He felt Snape pulling on his arm. "Pull yourself together. You're no help to Potter or Lupin like this." Sirius turned his head slowly to face Snape. He could see pain in his eyes which surprised him. And it was that the shocked him out of his stupor. Slowly, he stood up.

"How are we going to contact Dumbledore?" Sirius asked quietly.

"I'll do it," Snape replied equally quietly. Neither of them wanted to talk loudly. It was as though they didn't want to shatter the silence of the room. Snape turned away and muttered a spell. And Sirius saw a Patronus erupt from the end of his wand. _Of course,_ he thought. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about that. Dumbledore had told them only earlier that day to stay in contact that way.

"I sent a message saying what has happened and asked what he wants us to do," Snape told him.

"Okay," Sirius muttered. He was still in shock. He didn't think he would ever not be in shock again. So much had happened in such a short period of time. Harry had been kidnapped three days ago and now Remus had been taken too. He wished he could save them both right now. Right this minute. He didn't want to think about what could be happening to them.

"I think we should stay here until Dumbledore sends instructions," Snape suggested.

"I can't stay here. Remus was attacked and taken from here. And you want me to stay here?" Sirius screamed, finally destroying the quietness of the room.

"Yes I do," Snape replied simply. "I know this is hard for you. But if we stay here we can look for any clues Lupin may have left. And I'm sure Dumbledore will send a message back quickly so it won't be for long." Sirius stared at Snape, trying to decide whether he could do what Snape was asking. He tried to speak but he voice came out as a short rasp. He cleared his throat, and nodded. He really hoped the Dumbledore would send back word quickly, he felt sick just thinking about what the rest of the house might look like.

"I think we should check the rest of the house," Snape muttered. Sirius got the impression the he was worried about what it may look like too. Sirius nodded and slowly managed to get to his feet.

"Are you going to be okay?" Snape asked. "I can search the house if you're not up to it." Sirius shook his head.

"No, we should stick together. We don't know where Remus was taken for all we know they could still be here. We'd better be prepared," Sirius replied. He didn't know why it didn't occur to him straight away. Remus could have been taken at any time, it was just as likely that he was taken five minutes ago as it was that he was taken five days ago. He just prayed that whenever he was taken that he was still alive.

"That's a good idea. We'll search downstairs first and then move to the upstairs. It's probably best to keep quiet," Snape whispered. Sirius nodded again and pulled out his wand. He let Snape lead the way out of the living room and into the hall. It was eerie. There was no sign of any form of struggle in the hall. It looked exactly as Sirius remembered it. The front door was bolted shut and the chain was across, which indicated that Remus' attackers must have left by magical means, which made sense.

They continued down the hall and into the kitchen. One the table was a plate with a half eaten sandwich on it that had started to go mouldy.

"I guess that answers our question of when Lupin was taken," Snape said, lowering his wand. Sirius could muster an answer. He just stared at the sandwich. Remus must have been missing for days and they didn't notice. What kind of a friend was he if he didn't even notice when one of his best friends went missing? A little voice in the back of his mind tried to comfort him by telling him how hard his life was on the run and how hard it was for him to keep in contact with his loved ones. It wasn't comforting. It wasn't an excuse. It was a pathetic attempt to pass the blame and it just made Sirius feel worse.

"It's all my fault," he whispered. "How could I not have known he was missing?" Sirius felt lost as if he was alone in the middle of the Sahara Desert.

"It's not your fault. No one knew he was missing," Snape replied.

"How is that meant to make me feel better?" spat Sirius.

"He was undercover with the werewolves. We couldn't be in constant contact with him as we could have blown his cover. He must have been taken shortly after his last contact and obviously hasn't been missing long enough to miss his next one," Snape replied logically. Sirius was touched that he was trying to make him feel better but he was failing miserably.

"Come on, we need to check upstairs." Snape led the way out of the room again and up the stairs. It didn't look as if anyone lived up there. The bed wasn't made in the only bedroom and the mattress had springs sticking through it. The bathroom was spotless and didn't have so much as a toothbrush in it.

"That's odd," Sirius said.

"Indeed," Snape replied. "Downstairs looks very much 'lived in' but up here looks like no one has stayed here for months."

"What have up been doing Remus?" muttered Sirius. They both headed back downstairs, knowing they had to go back into the living room and search for clues. As they entered the room, they both sensed something was wrong. Something had changed in there. They both immediately drew their wands ready to duel but it quickly became apparent that what was different was not going to fight them. A single piece of paper had been placed in the centre of the room and sitting on one of the tipped over chairs was Fawkes the phoenix.

Sirius quickly ran to pick up the note while Snape went to stroke the phoenix for which he had always had a soft spot. There were only two words written in spindly writing on the paper which Sirius read aloud to Snape.

"I'm coming."


End file.
